The Indian Child Welfare Act is a federal law that was enacted in response to a large number of Indian children who, at one time, were being removed from their homes and placed with non-Indian adoptive or foster parents.

The Act's primary goal is to keep Indian children in custody of their parents. Under the Act, tribes typically have a strong say in where their children should be placed.

The Adoption Dispute

Originally, South Carolina's highest court had said that the 1978 federal law required that Brown be given custody.

Writing for the High Court's majority, Justice Alito reasoned that the Indian Child Welfare Act did not protect Brown's parental rights because he "abandoned the [American] Indian child before birth and never had custody of the child."

In Dusten Brown's case, he acknowledged he signed off on such an agreement, but insisted he didn't realize he was "giving up everything."

The No-Win Situation

Following the South Carolina court's order on Wednesday, Veronica is soon set to be returned to the couple who agreed to adopt her before her birth. For better or worse, tribal lawyers plan to pursue further litigation, though it's not clear how successful those efforts will be.

The child at the center of this tug-of-war, Baby Veronica, will turn 4 years old on September 15.